To find the top 10 cheapest US destinations, TripAdvisor compared the cost of a three-night stay in a four-star hotel, a visit to three attractions each day, the cost of lunch and dinner each day, and the cost of two Uber or taxi rides of two miles each way per day.

The prices for lunch (a meal and soft drink) and dinner (a starter, a main meal, and a bottle of wine to share) were collected from menus on restaurant websites. Transportation costs were based on prices from Uber and from local standard taxi rates. Attraction rates are based on the price of entry for the top five activities in each city, while hotel rates covered the average cost of a one night's stay in 4-star and 4.5-star hotels from June 2 through September 30 2016.